Amid the Ruins
by Reystro
Summary: After escaping a gang of bandits, Jenna runs into Luke, who convinces her come back with him and join their group; but Jenna does not trust anyone and refuses to reveal anything about her past. This does not sit well with some of the others, and they begin to suspect she may be hiding something. But soon, they'll have more important things to worry about. {UPDATE! 7/14}
1. Chapter One

**Author's Note**: I haven't done much writing in the past few years; I went from writing almost everyday to not at all, so I'm a little rusty. I've had this idea in my head ever since I started playing season two, and I'm finally getting to write it and post it on here. I hope you guys enjoy it, and I promise to make it more original rather than just sticking with the game's plot word-for-word.

**Setting**: The beginning of this Fanfic takes place shortly _before _season two of the game, but everyone has already left Carver's camp and is in the cabin.

**UPDATE** _(6.13.14)_: I've made a few changes to this chapter, because I wasn't completely happy with it. If you've read it before, you do not have to re-read it. I did not make major changes, and anything new included on here will also be mentioned in future chapters. I'm going to point it out in chapter two's note. There has also been a **title change**, if you read this when it was **Trust**.

* * *

**Chapter I**

_Run_.

That was the only thing on her mind - _run_ - just keep running and put as much distance as she possibly could between her and that camp. She ignored the painful stabs in her sides, the tightness in her lungs, the ache in her legs. She just kept running. She had no idea where she was going or what she was going to do once she got there - or what she would do when the time came to defend herself. She had been able to take a pocketknife and a small handgun from the camp they had ransacked two days before she escaped. Unfortunately, she wasn't very skilled when it came to shooting a gun, and the knife didn't look sharp enough to actually pierce through a walker's skull.

She shuddered at the thought.

Briefly, she wondered if Joe and his group noticed her absence by now. By now, they should be awake, preparing to murder more innocent people so they can raid their camp and steal what little supplies they may have had. Would they even bother to go looking for her? And if they found her, what would they do to her? What more could they possibly do other than kill her? They'd made it pretty clear they didn't want to do that. No, they wanted her to beg for death, but she had refused to break.

She stopped dead in her tracks, hearing the unmistakable sound of a nearby walker - maybe more - but she couldn't _see_ anything. Panicking, she looked around for a place to hide. She hadn't paid very much attention to her surroundings until sighed in relief as her eyes fell upon a car that looked to have run off the road. The front was smashed into a tree, but the doors still shut. She practically ripped the back door open and jumped inside. Shutting the car door behind her as silently as she could, she lowered herself onto the floorboard, crouching as far down as she could. She was trembling all over - whether out of fear or from running so long, she wasn't sure. She looked down at her wristwatch; what seemed like hours of running was really only a little over thirty minutes. Only thirty minutes between her and Joe's camp.

_N__ot far enough_, she thought.

Tears welled up in her eyes; she buried her face in her hands and let out a small sob before reminding herself she did not have the luxury of wallowing in self-pity.

"What am I gonna do now?" she whispered to herself.

A loud smack against the car window drew her out of her thoughts. Looking up, she found herself staring right into the lifeless eyes of the walker causing the car to rock violently as it threw itself against the side of it, desperately trying to reach her. While she was somewhat safe for now, it wouldn't be long before the commotion would draw more walkers - or even worse, before this walker managed to break the glass. She knew she had to act fast.

With unsteady hands, she unzipped the front pocket of her bag and dug through it until her fingers closed around the handle of the pocketknife. She closed her eyes and took a shaky breath, hoping the knife would prove more useful than it looked. She'd only done this alone a handful of times. How she'd managed to survive this long was truly a miracle. Of course, that's exactly how she found herself in the worst situations: depending on other people to take care of her. She was on her own now. This would be easy. She had the car door between her and the walker. All she had to do was roll down the window an inch or two and -

She screamed as the walker's face banged against the window, dark blood framing its face as it spurted out from the top of its head. It fell with a sickening thud, revealing a male figure standing behind it. The smeared blood on the window morphed his face.

No - _no, no, no_.

It couldn't be one of the men from Joe's group, could it? Was it possible they had noticed her missing and wasted no time and tracking her down? But how could they have caught up to her so fast? She had made sure no one was around to see her escape.

"Is someone in there?"

The voice did not sound familiar to her, which was only slightly comforting. At least it wasn't one of... _them_.

Still, she sat frozen in fear, unsure of what to do. This man might have saved her life - but again she thought, _this is exactly how it happened before. _Joe's group had found her and her brother at one of the rivers they'd set fish traps in, surrounded by walkers. They saved them both, which she later found out was very unlike them; she also soon discovered their intentions for saving a girl. Anytime someone helped her, it was because they wanted something from her.

"Hello?" the voice called out again. "I can see you in there, you know. It's okay, I'm not gonna hurt you. I just wanna help."

Shakily, she sat up and reached for the door handle. Slowly pushing it open, she peeked up at her savior.

"Please, just - just leave me alone," she said hoarsely. "Thank you - for saving me, I mean, but I'm okay now. I don't need any help."

Through tears, she could make out the man's features: He had thick brown hair and was looking down at her with kind brown eyes. He leaned down a little closer, and, as if instinctively, she jumped back, scrambling around for her pocketknife. She grabbed hold of it and pointed it in his direction.

"Whoa, hey... it's okay," he said quietly, holding up his hands and taking a step back. "I'm Luke... what's your name?"

She remained silent, still holding her knife with trembling hands. Noticing her unsteady grip, he lowered his hands to reach for his machete.

"Don't!" she warned, raising her knife a little higher.

"Don't worry - it's okay, I'm just gonna put it down," he said gently.

She watched him with narrowed eyes as he did what he said: He put the machete down on the ground beside him.

"Alright, I'm unarmed," he said, "now you can put down the knife, then we can talk."

"Why?" she demanded, furiously wiping the tears that had escaped her eyes. "Why can't you just leave me alone?"

"Because... well, you look terrified," he admitted, "and hurt. It looks like you're bleeding. I know someone who could fix that for you. He's a doctor."

Cautiously, with his hands still held up slightly, he took a step closer to her again. When she did not react, he slowly slid into the backseat of the car beside her. Still, she did not move, and he reached for her hands to gently take the knife from her. Feeling defeated, she let him. She was just so tired. If he did kill her, maybe it was for the best. She couldn't stand living like this anymore. At least she wouldn't be killed by Joe or one of his men.

"There we go," he said, his soft voice bringing her out of her thoughts. He set the knife down between them, making sure it was still within her reach. "So what're you doin' out here all by yourself?"

"I... I..." Her voice drifted off, the tears she'd been holding back since she'd escaped camp streaming down her cheeks.

"Hey," Luke said gently, "you don't gotta be scared. Why don't you come with me? My friend Nick's waitin' for me down by the river. You can come with me, and we'll take you back to our group. We've got a cabin not far from here. Carlos can stitch you up, and... if you don't wanna stay, you don't have to."

He waited patiently for her to say something. When she said nothing, he sighed and leaned back against the seat of the car.

"Okay," he said, folding his arms across his chest. "We can just sit here until you're ready. I'm not in a hurry. Nick can wait."

She looked up at him with confused eyes.

"Why... Why would you help me?" she said pleadingly. "You don't even know me."

"Because it's the right thing to do," he said, as if it was the most obvious answer. "Who says we have to stop doing the right thing just because things are... different? That doesn't mean we should stop being human."

"But that's what it takes to survive now," she replied, remembering something Joe had said to her.. "You can't do the right thing - that's what gets you killed..."

Luke's eyebrows raised in surprise, then he sighed sadly before giving her a tight smile.

"I'll take my chances," he said, holding his hand out to her.

She paused for a moment, looking down at his hand, then back up to his eyes again. After what seemed like an eternity, she finally offered an unsteady hand, and he smiling. The warmth of his hand soothed her.

"My name is Jenna," she said quietly after they both climbed out from the car.


	2. Chapter Two

**Chapter II**

"So Jenna," Luke said slowly, scratching the back of his head and ruffling up his hair as he walked, "exactly how long were you hiding out in that car? Because I've passed by that thing so many times - "

"Don't worry, I wasn't in there for very long... just a minute or two before you found me," Jenna mumbled, her green eyes fixated on the ground. "It was a pretty stupid idea."

"Nah," he said, chuckling, "Anyone woulda done the same thing. Just, for future reference, try the trunk next time - well, hopefully there won't be a next time..."

They were walking along what used to be a hiking trail. Jenna had kept her pocketknife in hand, still wary of this stranger. Even if he had saved her life, she wasn't sure of his intentions. She wanted so badly to trust him, to feel a sense of security she had not felt in so long. But after everything she'd experienced and witnessed in the last year, it was just not possible. Thinking of it caused hot, angry tears to well up in her eyes.

She didn't trust him, but she hoped he was telling the truth about having a doctor in his group. After the adrenaline rush of running for so long subsided, she felt the harsh sting of her fresh wounds. There was a pattern of bruises dotted all over her pale skin, but the cuts and scrapes left from escaping that camp and stumbling around disoriented in the woods had begun to bleed through her clothes. She'd had to crawl under a chain-link fence just to get out of that... prison they had set up just for her; the fence had torn her shirt, cutting into her skin. Still, she had managed to stay quiet as she squeezed herself under the fence; she'd also somehow ignored the blood and pain as she ran. But now that she was walking, she could feel every little ache and sting throughout her body.

"Hey, you okay?" Luke asked, suddenly stopping to examine her.

"I'm okay," Jenna said weakly. "Just a little tired, that's all."

"Is that so?" He smirked at her. "Because from where I'm standin', you don't look so good. Sure you don't wanna rest for a minute before we - ?"

"No," she said firmly.. "No - please, let's keep going."

Luke narrowed his eyes at her as she began to look around at their surroundings; her fear was written all over her face.

"You ain't... running from someone... are you?"

She stopped and looked up at him nervously, biting her lower lip. Luke raised an eyebrow.

"It's okay if you are," he assured her. "It's just, y'know... be nice to know about that _before_ I take you to our camp."

"I'm not really sure," Jenna admitted. "It depends, I guess... if they've noticed I'm gone yet... and if they even bother to come after me."

"_They_?"

She sighed heavily, leaning against a nearby tree and sinking down into the grass, wincing as her body ached in protest. She buried her face in her arms to hide her tears.

"Look, kid, I wanna help you - really, I do," Luke said, crouching down next to her, "but you gotta be honest with me, okay?"

Jenna flinched as he brushed a strand of dark hair away from her face. Peeking up at him through her tears, she looked at him, slightly puzzled, then nodded silently.

"Did you escape from Carver's camp?" he asked nervously.

"Huh?" Jenna's eyebrows furrowed as she lifted her head to meet his gaze. "No... who's Carver?"

Luke sighed in relief - but at the same time, he shuddered at the thought of there being another person out there who was anywhere near as bad as Carver. If she was running from someone else, that meant there were other camps out there like Carver's. Camps luring people in with promises of safety, food, and shelter - but in reality, it was almost as bad as fending for yourself out here. At least out here, the lurkers had no choice in what they were doing. In camps like Carver's, people were choosing to hurt one another. Judging by the shape this girl was in, whatever camp she'd escaped from could possibly be even worse than Carver's little community.

"Nobody you'd ever wanna meet," Luke said finally. "We just got out of a pretty bad place ourselves - just makin' sure you're not running from the same guy we are. If ya don't mind me askin', who are you running from?"

She did not reply, just let out a small whimper and shook her head.

"Hey - it's all right." He helped her back to her feet. "Nobody's gonna hurt you, okay? You're safe now. Here, let me help you - "

"No!" she protested, jumping back as he started to put his arm around her. "I'm fine. I can walk."

"Sorry, sorry," he said quickly, taking a step away from her,

They continued their trek in silence after that, and Luke secretly observed Jenna's movements as she limped beside him. He had to hold himself back from offering to help her walk again. She was covered in bruises, her clothing soaked through with blood. He couldn't imagine what he would've found had he walked by that car just a few moments later than he did. She could barely walk by herself, much less fight off a lurker. He could only hope everyone back at the house would agree with him that they needed to help this girl as much as they could - as much as she would let them help. Something told him she'd suffered through much worse than some of them had gone through back at Carver's camp, the thought of which made him sick to his stomach.

He knew Pete would side with him; he and his sister, Rita, were usually open to helping other survivors. Others like Rebecca, on the other hand, may not be as enthusiastic about the whole thing. Lately she'd become more and more paranoid as she came closer to having her baby. Of course, Luke didn't blame her. She was the main reason Carver was hunting them down right now.

"You sure you're all right?" Luke asked suddenly, noticing her limping had become more prominent.

"I'm fine," Jenna insisted, wrapping her arms around her tightly, shivering.

She only wore a thin gray shirt with long sleeves and jeans that were tucked into brown boots. She used to have a thick sweatshirt, but she had lost it a few weeks ago when Joe had decided to move their camp. He didn't give her time to actually grab any of her things - not that she had very many things to begin with. The only thing she had left was a necklace she kept hidden under her shirt. Her brother had given it to her a few weeks after this whole mess started.

_"I found this upstairs," he had whispered, showing her the small arrow that hung on a thin, silver chain in the palm of his hand. "It's real white gold!" _

_"Tom!" Jenna had tried to hide the big stupid grin forming on her face. "Did you _steal _that?" _

_"What? It's not like anyone was at the cash register. It's the end of the world. We can take whatever we want. Think of it as a late birthday present." _

"Wait."

Luke threw his arm out in front of her, and Jenna stumbled right into it.

"What - ?"

She was cut off short as Luke suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled her behind a tree. When she started to protest, he covered her mouth with his hand roughly, pinning her against the tree.

_This is it_, she thought. _He's going to rape me and then - _

Luke held a finger against his lips, motioning for her to be quiet, before removing the hand from her mouth and letting her go. The sound of walkers approaching brought with it a strange relief.

Walkers. It was just walkers.

"It's just one," Luke whispered, reaching over his shoulder and grabbing the handle of his machete. "Stay here, I'll be right back - don't make a sound."

She opened her mouth to inform him that she could very well take care of herself, but he was already gone; and in just a few short moments, she heard the familiar sounds of a struggle: The rustling of leaves as he ran over to the walker, the ring of his machete slicing through the air. She heard the walker's hungry groaning and Luke's determined grunt as he swung his machete, slicing the walker's head. At last came the gurgling sounds and the sickening thud of the walker's body falling to the ground. The only thing Jenna could hear now was Luke's panting as he bent down, placing his hands on his knees.

Jenna peeked from behind the tree and watched silently as he replaced the machete back into the makeshift holster he wore strapped around him.

"Can I come out now?" she whispered.

Luke nodded, wiping the sweat from his brow; and she bounded back to his side, carefully stepping over the now motionless body lying on the ground while trying her best not to look down at it. They stepped back onto the trail and trudged on.

They remained mostly silent as they walked, other than Luke assuring her that she would be welcome to stay with them for as long as she wanted to. After just a few more minutes of walking, they came upon the river. Jenna could see a man sitting on one of the larger rocks, and she assumed this was the friend Luke had told her about. He wore a dark red baseball cap and camouflage cargo pants. He looked over his shoulder when he heard their approaching sounds.

"It's about time you got here," he grumbled. "I was beginning to think - "

The man's blue eyes landed on Jenna, who stood behind Luke, her shyness overcoming any curiosity she had about this group she was possibly going to be a part of.

"Nick," Luke began slowly, walking over to the man and beckoning Jenna to come closer, "this is Jenna. Jenna, this is Nick."

"Um, hi," Jenna said sheepishly.

"I ran into her on my way back," Luke explained in response to Nick's wide eyes. "She got into some trouble, and I helped her out. I told her she could stay with us for as long as she needed."

"Do you really think that's such a good idea, Luke? I mean we just - "

"_Nick_ _- !_"

"I'm just sayin', you think Carlos is gonna be okay with that?" Nick glanced back over at Jenna. "No offense, it's just... some of the people in our group may not be too happy about it."

"It's okay, I get it," Jenna said, looking down as a warm blush spread across her face.

"We've got enough supplies, Nick," Luke said firmly. "We're supposed to have more people with us, anyway. Bonnie flaked out on us, and Reggie... well..."

Nick lowered his eyes guiltily.

"I don't wanna be any trouble..." Jenna mumbled.

"You're not," Luke insisted, giving her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about it, all right? Let's just get back - "

"Well who do we have here?"

The three of them turned suddenly as an older man pushed his way through the surrounding trees and walked over to them. Jenna automatically took a step closer to Luke when she saw the newcomer.

"It's all right, he's with us," Luke whispered, glancing over his shoulder. "Pete, this is Jenna. She's gonna be staying with us for a while."

"Nice to see a new face around here that ain't trying to eat me," Pete said, chuckling softly.

Nick rolled his eyes, and Luke shot him a look as if to say, "I told you so."

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**Author's Note: **I'm sorry this chapter is a little uneventful. Next chapter, Jenna meets everyone else in the group. We'll see how that goes... Feel free to leave suggestions, constructive criticism, comments, etc.


	3. Chapter Three

**Author's Note:** I'm terribly sorry it's taken me so long to write this chapter. I'm afraid I've come down with writers' block, but hopefully it hasn't affected this chapter too much. At first I was a little disappointed with the lack of reviews, but I'm amazed as how much positive feedback I've gotten recently. Thank you guys so much for the support, and I hope you continue to enjoy reading this as much as I do writing it.

**IMPORTANT****!:** I'm going to be changing my username on here to _Reystro_ sometime soon. I just wanted to try and let anyone who doesn't followed/favorite this but still reads know, so you'll still be able to find it :)

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**Chapte****r III**

The cabin was a lot larger than Jenna had imagined; she came to a halt as it fully came into view. The steps at the front of the house led up to a front porch that wrapped halfway around the wooden structure, accentuated by white fencing and columns. It was a two-story house, and she counted two... three... _four_ windows just at the front of the house; from the side, she could make out another two windows. The roof towered over them, and Jenna found herself staring in awe. It had been so long since she had stayed inside a house so large.

_How many people live here...?_

"You all right?"

Luke's southern drawl snapped her out of her stupor. Her face grew warm when she realized Pete, Nick, and Luke were all giving the same confused look, probably wondering why she had fallen behind and was staring up at the house.

"I'm fine," she said once she caught up to them. "I just - It's been a long time since I've seen such a big house."

"Shit, you think this place is impressive? Where the hell have you been _staying_ - ?" Nick began.

"Watch your mouth, boy," Pete snapped, chastising Nick. "Your mother taught you better than that."

"Quit callin' me boy," Nick grumbled, folding his arms across his chest.

"Quit actin' like one," Pete retorted.

Nick glared at him darkly, then stomped off towards the house. Pete gave Jenna an apologetic look as Nick slammed the front door behind him.

"Don't mind my nephew," he said kindly. "I was surprised we found such a big house out here in the woods. You kinda forget it's the end of the world once you're inside. That being said, Luke - why don't we go and introduce everyone to our new guest?"

Luke nodded in agreement and looked over at Jenna with a reassuring smile. Still, her stomach twisted into knots at the thought of meeting so many people - especially when some of those people might not be too happy about her being there. She began to wonder if it had been such a good idea to agree to come along with Luke, but she had nowhere else to go.

She followed Pete and Luke up the steps and onto the porch, the wooden floorboards creaking beneath their feet. Pete opened the front door, and the three of them walked inside.

The stained-glass window in the center of the front door cast a soft green hue across the wooden floor of the hallway. The blue and red striped wallpaper was decorated with pictures, a mounted fish, and a number of what appeared to be trophies and certificates earned from fishing contests. Jenna looked away from those, not wanting to think about whoever lived here before the world went to hell.

Walking farther into the house revealed even more fish-related decor: Framed pictures of fish and other sea-life lined the walls. To their left was a swinging door, upon which hung a white oval sign that read _Kitchen _in bold; at the bottom of the sign was an open-mouthed bass jumping towards the letters. The hallway opened up to a cozy living room: Two green and white plaid couches circled a small coffee table cluttered with books, a dusty chess set, and unlit candles. Behind the coffee table loomed a stone fireplace. Jenna's eyes widened as they fell on the large bookcase that stood beside a wooden door, which she assumed led into one of the bedrooms she'd counted from the outside.

"Nice place, huh?" Luke said.

Before she could reply, the kitchen door swung open, and a woman stepped out into the hallway, followed by a girl who looked to be in her early teens. The younger of the two was the first to notice Jenna standing behind Pete and Luke; she stared at Jenna with wide brown eyes that peered from behind her thick-framed glasses. She had messy, short black hair and wore a blue jacket over her t-shirt.

"Who's she?" she blurted.

"Sarah!" the older woman chided, and the young girl looked down, resembling a small child who had been scolded by her mother.

The woman looked down at Jenna with kind blue eyes. Her brown hair was tied up into a neat bun at the top of her head, and she had a warm, welcoming smile that revealed small dimples in the upper corners of her mouth.

"Hello," she said softly.

"Rita, this is Jenna," Pete explained. "Luke found her while Nick and I were settin' up some fish traps out in the river."

"Well it's nice to meet you, Jenna." Rita's smile fell slightly as she got a better look at the younger girl standing before her. "What happened to you, sweetheart? You're all bruised up..."

"She's been through a lot... but she's all right," Luke said quickly, casting a warning glance at Rita with a slight nod.

"I ain't a doctor, Luke, but it looks like she needs stitches before those cuts get infected," Pete observed. "We've got plenty of supplies and - "

"Oh no, I'm fine," Jenna spoke up suddenly, her green eyes fixated on the ground to avoid looking up at their worried expressions. "Please don't waste any of your supplies on me. It's just a few scratches."

"Don't worry, my dad's a doctor," Sarah piped up brightly. "He'll make sure you're okay when he gets back."

"Carlos and Alvin will be back soon. They went to try and hunt us down some dinner," Rita explained with a chuckle. "In the meantime, Jenna, I'm sure you're exhausted. Why don't you come upstairs? You can have yourself a nice, warm bath and get some rest. How does that sound?"

Jenna stared at her as if she were insane.

"A... bath?" she said dubiously. "You mean like... a _real_ bath?"

"Why yes, honey, of course a real bath," Rita replied brightly. "Just give me a few minutes, and I can fetch you some warm water."

"Warm... warm water? A _real_ warm bath?"

"Oh, bless your heart," Rita said sympathetically. "Come on, dear, let's get you some clean clothes. I'm sure we can find something that'll fit you."

* * *

An hour later, Jenna was freshly bathed and pulling on a black t-shirt and cotton shorts Rita had let her borrow after promising to have her own clothes clean and dry by tomorrow, even after Jenna's pleas to not go through any more trouble on her behalf.

"Oh, please," Rita had said, rolling her eyes. "Really, I don't mind. I'm actually thrilled to be doing something useful around here for once. You just worry about gettin' some rest, alright? Carlos should be back before dark, and he'll be able to give you the antibiotics you need so none of those cuts get infected. You're not in any pain, are you, honey? Because I can probably get you somethin' - "

"Oh, no, no, I'm okay... really," Jenna had assured her.

Rita had shot her a look of doubt, but still smiled kindly. Without saying anything else, Rita had left the room, leaving Jenna alone with her thoughts. She felt oddly uncomfortable tucked into this strange bed, wearing clothes that did not belong to her. She felt out of place, as if she did not belong here. Well, technically she _didn't_ belong here. She didn't belong anywhere. Not anymore.

Tears welled up in her eyes, but for the first time in what seemed like a century, they were not tears of sadness or of desperation; these were tears of relief. Jenna allowed herself the luxury of relief, if only for a few moments. She had not allowed the reality of what had been happening set in until now: Just this morning, she had been certain she was going to die attempting to escape from Joe's group of bandits. An hour ago, she had been sitting in a tub of warm water - _a real, warm bath_ - washing her hair with shampoo for the first time in years.

How did these people have so many supplies? How were they able to have shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, and even toothbrushes? According to that man, Pete, they had _medical supplies_. How long had they been staying in this cabin? And why were they helping her? Why were they being so kind to her? They barely knew her, and yet they've welcomed her into their group, no questions asked. They've allowed her to use what little supplies they have.

Could it really be possible for people so genuinely kind to have survived this long? It went against everything she'd ever heard Joe tell his men during his "lectures" on survival.

_Kindness gets you nowhere. Trust gets you killed._

Pushing aside all of the negative thoughts and questions, Jenna pulled the covers over her head and sank into the softness of the bed. It had been _so long_ since she'd slept in a real bed. A real bed with a sheets and pillows - _pillows! There are _four_ pillows on this bed! _she thought to herself giddily. A small giggle came from inside of her - a place deep inside that she no longer recognized.

But it was still there, somewhere.

She turned onto her stomach and buried her face into one of the _four pillows_ on the bed, breathing in deeply and losing herself in the heavenly scent that filled her nostrils. She decided this was the scent of comfort. It was oddly familiar, but she did not bother to dwell on that; all she wanted was to breathe it in and lay there forever.

"Comfy?"

Jenna recognized the thick, southern drawl even through the muffled silence surrounding her. She looked up from the pillow, making sure to keep the lower half of her face behind it to hide the blush spreading across her face. Luke was leaning against the door frame with his arms folded across his chest, a warm smile playing at his lips.

"I'm sorry," Jenna said, sitting up awkwardly. "It's been a long time since I've been able to lay on a real bed..."

Her voice drifted off as she recalled the last time she had been in a house; images of Joe and Len fighting over who had "claimed" her first flashed through her head. She squeezed her eyes shut as she felt a sickening feeling wash over her.

_Don't think about tha__t. _

"Are you okay?"

Jenna opened her eyes to find Luke was now sitting on the edge of the bed beside her, worry written across his face.

"I'm fine," she insisted. "I just... I'm _fine_."

"Yeah, right," Luke scoffed. "That why you're so pale? I'll be right back, I'm gonna get Carlos."

"No, please, it's okay," Jenna pleaded.

Ignoring her, Luke stood up from the bed and headed towards the door., shutting it behind him. As he hurried down the wooden stairs, Jenna sighed heavily and fell back into the pillows, allowing herself to be swallowed by the comforting scent she'd just been relishing in before Luke had walked in and screwed it up.

Within a few seconds, heavy foot steps could be heard coming up the stairs. She could also hear Luke's voice along with an unfamiliar, much deeper tone; she could just make out a few hushed sentences.

"...This is a mistake... You have no idea who she is or where she came from..."

"What was I supposed to do? Just leave here there to die?"

Suddenly, a woman's voice interrupted the two men:

"What if the people she was with before come looking for her? Then what? What if she's lying? She could be helping Carver!"

"Rebecca, do you really think Carver would send a wounded girl to be a _spy_?"

This last voice Jenna recognized to be Rita's. Apparently, this ended the argument, because all Jenna heard after that was the other woman grumbling drowned out by steps that faded down the stairs. When they could no longer be heard, the bedroom door creaked open, allowing Luke step inside the room. With him was a tall, dark man who appeared to have a permanent scowl plastered on his face; he was holding a dark green bag.

Carlos smiled tightly at Jenna before walking over to her, placing the bag on the bed. Jenna looked up at Luke with pleading eyes.

"It's okay, he's a doctor," Luke said gently.

"Can you stay?" Jenna blurted, fidgeting with the sheets nervously.

Luke paused for a moment, shocked by her request.

"Sure I can," he said finally with a soft smile. He sat down on the ground beside the bed, leaning his back against the nightstand.

"I can already see I'll need to suture the cut above your elbow," Carlos observed, rummaging through his bag and pulling out some bandages and a plastic bag. "I have some medication that will help the pain. I can't promise anything, but the medication may allow you to sleep through most of the suturing. What I do know is if I don't clean and suture your wounds soon, you will risk infection - and trust me, you don't want that."

Jenna looked down at Luke with wide eyes, her lower lip trembling.

"Hey, it's okay," he coaxed. "I'll be right here with you."

Carlos narrowed his eyes at Luke suspiciously. After digging through his bag of medical supplies again, he handed Jenna a bottle of water and a round, white pill.

"Take that," he instructed. "It shouldn't take long for it to take effect, but I'm going to check on Sarah while we wait. Just let me know when you start to notice signs of drowsiness."

"Gotcha," Luke nodded.

Jenna noticed the dark look Carlos gave Luke before stepping out of the room.

"Does he always look so angry?" she whispered when she could no longer hear Carlos's footsteps.

"Nah," Luke replied, chuckling softly. "He's just worried about his daughter. He can be a bit... overprotective sometimes."

"I'm not working for that man," Jenna said suddenly, turning to face him. "Carver. They think I came from his camp, don't they? I swear I - "

"I know you're not," Luke interrupted her. "Look, they're just bein' cautious, that's all. They'll come around, and they'll realize you know nothin' about Carver or his camp. Besides, Rita, Pete, and I are all on your side, so you got nothin' to worry about. All you gotta worry about now is gettin' better."

His reassuring smile brought a sense of comfort, and Jenna let herself relax again and sink into the bed, pulling the covers up to her chest as she turned over on her side to face him, her eyelids starting to feel heavy.

"Promise you'll stay with me," she mumbled.

"I promise."

Luke's voice sounded far away, but she felt him grab her hand and squeeze it gently.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I wanted to go ahead and throw a teensy bit of Luke/OC fluff just to get a feel for what you guys think. Luke/OC pairing? Yay or nay? Review and let me know your opinions! **  
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